Chapter 8: The Back Mountain Dungeon (3)

After clearing the dungeon.

As we returned to school, the kids all stopped and stared.

Torn clothes, dried bloodstains.

It was no wonder, considering we looked like we’d come from a battlefield, not just the back mountain.

“Did something happen on the back mountain?”

As scripted, I smacked Han Yoosung on the head.

Clutching his throbbing head, Han Yoosung stared at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“Even if you want to be alone in a quiet place, you shouldn’t go up the back mountain!”

Han Yoosung looked at me as if to ask if that was the best excuse I could come up with.

I couldn’t exactly say that a dungeon had appeared on the back mountain and we’d been fighting orcs.

“I’m sorry.”

Han Yoosung said sullenly, grinding his teeth.

‘What are you going to do looking at me like that? It’s your fault in the end.’

I barely managed to suppress the rising corner of my lip.

“Everyone go home early today.”

I wanted to go home and rest quickly.

It felt like gravity had doubled.

Wasn’t this a bit too spectacular for my first day?

Han Yoosung remained in his seat, watching Kim Onyu.

“He’s strange, as I thought.”

There was more than one strange thing about that teacher.

Not only did he not have any memories of the teacher from before the regression, but his actions in this battle were extraordinary.

Calm judgment.

The plan that utilized the surrounding terrain was near perfect.

He was definitely the most dangerous person to have as an enemy.

But that didn’t mean he could be trusted indefinitely.

There was a good chance he would gain trust and then stab you in the back.

‘I’ll have to keep an eye on him.’

“If he’s going up the back mountain alone, did he make a secret base or something?”

Kim Seogeon asked, poking him in the side with his elbow.

‘What is this idiot?’

Ignoring Kim Seogeon, he gripped the item in his pocket tightly.

This iteration was different somehow.

His intuition told him so.

+++

Name: Han Yoosung

Trait: Regressor

Trust: 0-> 3%

[Stats]

Strength: 13 Agility: 15 Stamina: 7 Mana: 13 Senses: 20

Investment Limit: 10 points

Current Investment Points: 10 points

+++

“Haa… I feel alive.”

I dove onto the bed after taking a shower.

It felt much better after washing away the orc blood smell that had been vibrating all over my body.

“I’m glad I didn’t run into anyone on the way.”

Since it was a rural area, there would be a lot of interaction between the townspeople.

I didn’t want to be followed by the label of someone who reeked of a terrible smell.

[Skill Window]

+++

[Skill Name: Investment Prodigy]

[Rank: S]

[Effect: You can invest your experience points into the stats of a target. You will gain or lose profit depending on the growth of the investment target. However, you cannot invest in yourself.]

[Skill Name: I Hear Your Heart’s Voice]

[Rank: A]

[Effect: You can know the job and heart of the other person. The skill is always active. However, the target is limited to children.]

[Skill Name: There Are No Bad Kids in the World]

[Rank: B]

[Effect: You can subdue the opponent in proportion to their favorability. The best skill for kids who don’t listen.]

+++

I still couldn’t get used to the skill names.

Who names skills like this?

‘It’s a good thing I got the skills after retiring.’

It was customary for hunters to report new skills to their guild.

If I had to say, in front of everyone, that my skill was “There Are No Bad Kids in the World,” I would have died of embarrassment.

I would have kicked my blanket every time I thought about it.

[Investment Prodigy]

[Skill Name: Investment Prodigy]

[Rank: S]

[Effect: You can invest your experience points into the stats of a target. You will gain or lose profit depending on the growth of the investment target. However, you cannot invest in yourself.

Trait 1: You’re Rich with Profit! (Your stats increase depending on the performance of the investment target.)

Trait 2: (Locked)

Trait 3: (Locked)]

The dungeon reward was the evolution of the S-rank skill Investment Prodigy’s trait.

It was unprecedented for a skill to gain traits as a reward.

‘Usually, you have to train a skill to the extreme to unlock a trait.’

But that wasn’t the important thing.

It was the first unlocked trait.

‘The fact that my stats increase when the person I invest in performs well.’

That meant that the more my disciples performed, the stronger I could become.

The hunters I had invested in were almost all high-ranking hunters, people in positions to perform.

It was only natural that my stats would increase easily.

The more I looked at it, the more a silly smile leaked out.

[However, you can only gain stats from ‘the performance of the investors’ that you recognize.]

As if to throw ashes on my happiness, the system suddenly chimed in.

That meant that even if my disciples performed well, I could only receive stats if I witnessed it directly or saw it in the newspaper or on the news.

“This damn system! Are you crazy!”

A voice of anger burst from my mouth.

It’s not like I’m a miser, what’s wrong with giving me stats when my disciples perform well!

The happy feeling vanished in an instant.

“Well, of course, there’s no way the system would give me a good skill.”

Every time, it only gives me strange skills like “There Are No Bad Kids in the World” or “I Hear Your Heart’s Voice”…

Still, if I thought about it positively, I had found a way to raise my stats.

[It will be helpful enough.]

Is that supposed to be comforting?

It felt more like it was teasing me.

I’ll never rely on the system again.

I turned off the skill window, which I didn’t even want to look at, and closed my eyes.

I was so tired from overdoing it today that I was falling asleep.

“Haa… I wonder how the kids in the Hongyeom Guild are doing?”

Now that I’ve retired and left, I’m worried about the kids I left behind.

Well, it’s a large guild, so they’ll be doing well.

The atmosphere in the Master Guild office was as bleak as if a cold wave had hit.

“The Guild Master’s complexion hasn’t been good lately.”

Park Mooseong, the tanker of the Master Guild, sighed deeply.

Guild Master Lee Chanho had always been bright and gentle to others.

Now, he had become so cold that it seemed like he was possessed by a ghost.

The turning point was after the A-rank dungeon raid.

He had changed after receiving a phone call.

“But his expression brightened a little when he left this time.”

“That’s a relief.”

The Guild Master’s face was particularly bright when he left today, saying he had something to do.

I hoped the problem had been resolved.

“Ah, speaking of the Guild Master, is that rumor true?”

Kang Woohee, a B-rank hunter who had recently joined the guild, chimed in.

“What rumor?”

“There was a rumor going around among the old hunters about the Guild Master’s teacher.”

“Ah, I’ve heard a lot about that too.”

It was a story that no hunter could be unaware of.

The story of a legendary hunter who had trained the S-rank hunters who led the current Korean hunter world.

He was said to have single-handedly caught a dragon during his active duty, and he didn’t show himself to others like a hidden master.

However, no one had actually seen him.

“There was definitely an argument that Lee Chanho was also a disciple, right?”

The person in question kept his mouth shut, so it was never revealed whether it was true.

Thanks to that, it remained a simple rumor that was only a urban legend.

“That’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”

“No, there’s a rumor that Lee Chanho is like this because there’s a problem with his teacher.”

The guild members thought it was amazing to hear the rumors that Kang Woohee was spreading.

Woo Hyun Jong, his direct senior, put an end to Kang Woohee’s unfounded story.

He tapped Kang Woohee on the head with the file in his hand.

“Don’t say strange things and go to work.”

“It’s not a strange story…”

Kang Woohee pouted and expressed his injustice.

Of course, it didn’t work on Woo Hyun Jong, the cold-blooded man of the Master Guild.

It only became quiet after he forcibly dragged Kang Woohee away.

“…The Guild Master’s teacher…”

He caught a dragon with his bare hands and trained S-rank hunters, which was not logically possible.

Even the strongest American hunter in the world couldn’t catch a dragon with his bare hands.

‘But if he really exists, I’d like to meet him.’

Only the Guild Master would know the answer to the question of whether he actually existed.

Around that time.

In the city, people were gathered in groups, looking beyond the cafe window.

The cafe manager was generating billions of won in annual sales.

He was confident that all the crises in his life had passed after successfully starting his first cafe.

But he was currently experiencing the biggest crisis of his life.

“E-enjoy your coffee…”

With trembling hands, he placed two cups of coffee on the table.

Two S-rank hunters were the owners of the table.

Even though they covered their faces with hats and masks, their spirit was so great that it broke through the pretense when viewed by ordinary people.

When Seol Ahyeon’s gaze swept over him, the manager ran and hid behind the counter.

The surrounding customers glanced over, snapping photos with their cameras.

“Look over there, it’s Seol Ahyeon, the S-rank hunter from the Hongyeom Guild, and Lee Chanho, the Master Guild Master!”

“Why are those people here? Are they dating?”

Crack!

The coffee cup in her hand almost crumpled.

She was unhappy that she was involved in a scandal with Lee Chanho of all people.

‘This has never happened before, except when the teacher misunderstood when I was young.’

She wanted to get up and leave right away.

“…What’s wrong with you that you want to see me?”

Seol Ahyeon pulled her hat down once and looked at Lee Chanho with a displeased look.

Lee Chanho only drank coffee after calling her out.

“You know I hate you, right?”

“I feel the same way.”

They were both raised by the teacher at the same time, but they were like enemies.

Originally, those who had transcended humanity, like S-rank hunters, could not get along with each other.

It was no different from a beast that had entered their territory.

They only pretended to be friendly in front of the teacher, and they were not on terms to talk privately like this.

“…I’ll get straight to the point. Tell me where the teacher is.”

Seol Ahyeon twitched her eyebrows and let out a short laugh.

“Why do you want to know?”

Come to think of it, Lee Chanho looked strange today.

It was as if he was forcibly holding back deep sadness.

‘Why? Could something have happened to the teacher? No, the teacher is just on vacation because he’s not feeling well.’

That’s what the Guild Master told me, so it was certain.

Lee Chanho looked at Seol Ahyeon’s face and swept back his hair with a troubled expression.

“Haa… You don’t know anything. Even though you’ve been by the teacher’s side for so long. I wasted my time for nothing.”

Seol Ahyeon suppressed her emotions as much as possible, but the magic power that slipped out slightly froze the warm coffee in an instant.

Even though the air conditioner was not turned on, breath flowed from people’s mouths.

“…Lee Chanho, what the hell are you talking about?”

At this point, she could roughly guess what was going on.

The teacher was not simply on vacation.

And Lee Chanho had the answer to that.

“Tell me what it is right now.”

“I’m not your subordinate, do I have to tell you?”

Lee Chanho also didn’t stay still any longer.

He was also an S-rank hunter, and the energy of the two made the cafe air heavy.